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Apparel Stores Lead in Retail Gains

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Helped by sales of Easter and spring merchandise, apparel stores continued to outperform the rest of the retailing industry in April, according to figures released yesterday by several big store chains.

Analysts said department stores, which have lagged behind the specialty retailers for some time, showed signs of improvement.

The Limited Inc., the nation's largest specialty apparel retailer, posted a 16 percent gain at stores open at least a year and an 18 percent overall increase from the period a year ago. For the first three months overall sales were up 15 percent.

Retail sales are closely watched not only as a gauge of the health of the industry and individual companies, but also as an economic barometer. Consumer spending accounts for about two-thirds of the gross national product.

Results from stores open a year or longer - known as same-store or comparable-store sales - give a more accurate reading of a retailer's performance. Industry analysts therefore give them more weight than overall sales figures.

Gains by Big Department Stores

Among the big department stores, the Dayton Hudson Corporation, whose holdings include Dayton's and Hudson's department stores and Target discount stores, said its comparable-stores sales rose 5.5 percent in April, while overall sales picked up 11.7 percent. For the first three months it gained 13.4 percent over all.

The May Department Stores Company, which owns Lord & Taylor, Foley's, Filene's and other chains, said its comparable-store sales rose 8.8 percent, as overall sales improved 14.3 percent. For the first three months overall sales were up 10.7 percent.

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The K Mart Corporation, the nation's largest discount chain, recorded a 6.3 percent comparable-store gain, and a 15.9 percent rise over all from a year ago. For the first three months it gained 12.6 percent over all. In March, K Mart suffered a 1.1 percent drop in comparable-store sales.

Carter Hawley Hale Stores Inc. reported sales up 2.1 percent for the four weeks ended May 5 and an increase of 4.6 percent for the first nine months of its fiscal year.

Easter Helps Sales

Sales were helped in particular by Easter, which fell in April of this year, helping to lift the year-over-year results for last month. The holiday fell in March last year. Because of the shifting holiday, the industry considers March and April sales together in assessing how well stores did.

''Specialty and department stores are leading the pack,'' Ms. Sack of S.&P. said. ''Historically, it's been that way over the last couple of years.''

Kurt Barnard, a retailing consultant, said that the stores that have done the best cater to consumers seeking higher-quality merchandise ''at a moderate price in a very attractive and exciting ambiance.'' He cited the Limited and the Gap as examples of such retailers.

Analysts predict the trend will continue until later this year.

Similar Results at Big Retailers

Because of differing calendars, many of the nation's biggest retailers - including J. C. Penney and Woolworth - reported their April results a week ago, and they also reflected the split between sales of apparel and more expensive items. Sears, Roebuck & Company last week reported a 3.1 percent rise in same-store sales and and overall gain of 1.6 percent, while Wal-Mart Inc. reported a 20.2 percent gain for April.

The figures released yesterday differ from the Federal Government's monthly retail sales report. Besides stores, the Government's figures include sales at a range of establishments from auto dealerships and supermarkets to restaurants and movie theaters.

Some top retailers do not report their sales monthly, including the Campeau Corporation units Federated Department Stores and Allied Stores; R.H. Macy & Company, and Batus Inc. Montgomery Ward & Company, a privately held retailer, has stopped releasing its monthly sales.

A version of this article appears in print on May 11, 1990, on Page D00004 of the National edition with the headline: Apparel Stores Lead in Retail Gains. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe